This stay was self-funded. I have no affiliation with the hotel and all links go directly to the hotel’s own site not to third party booking sites.
Can an old bank really provide a luxury boutique hotel experience? A bank evokes images of austere rooms, not the comfortable design-led experience normally associated with a boutique hotel.
European banks were often built with a sense of grandeur, with marble columns and high ceilings. They were built to show wealth, as though in placing your money there somehow the wealth would rub off on you. The building that now houses the hotel FRANQ was such a bank, and the feeling of wealth and riches remains, but has been softened with cosy jewel coloured velvet sofas and eclectic artwork.
The name FRANQ comes from the old Belgian currency, a great deal of which would have passed through the doors of this former bank. It is a 4-star boutique hotel with 39 rooms.
The hotel is situated on a road inside the old town, in easy reach by tram of the central station (which is a fabulous building). The street itself is nothing to write home about, but it has the advantage of being very close to the action, whilst having no bars on it which cuts down the noise.
It really is a great location for visiting Antwerp. Turn left out of the door, cross a road and you are in a lovely square with cobblestones, a fabulous baroque church (Saint Charles Borromeo Church) and a rather nice wine bar (Zorro).
Entering into the hotel you immediately get the feeling of grandeur, from the marble columns and ornate plasterwork. The lobby is a light filled atrium with a domed roof, filled with colourful furniture. Reception is tucked away to one side in a terracotta coloured alcove, present but unobtrusive. Check-in was quick and professional with an offer to take me to my room. When I declined I was escorted to the lift and only then did she tell me my room number, a detail I appreciated as a solo female traveller.
The lifts are again tucked away to one side, and the entrance to them is painted a rather delightful shade of aubergine. The use of colour in the Hotel FRANQ is one of the ways they have taken an austere building and given it character. The first floor is a gallery which wraps around the atrium and provides more seating with more colourful velvet furnishings.
These colourful chairs carry the character of the hotel into the rooms. My room was on the top floor, in the eaves. Nothing of the bank remains up here, but the bright orange armchair helps to stop the room feeling boring, as do the visible rafters.
I booked a deluxe room which was a reasonable size, without being massive. There was a desk with a nice solid chair as well as the armchair. Two night-stands, one of which had a rather nice Marshall radio/speaker on it. The large window, with a Juliet balcony, looked out onto the inner courtyard. Whilst this means you don’t get a view, it is my preference for inner city hotels as it cuts down on street noise.
The bathroom was a modest size with a double vanity and a good sized shower. The shower had both a rainfall and a handheld, and of particular note were the controls which have a very clear button for each of the showers and a very easy to understand temperature knob. This should be the standard in all hotels!
Robes and slippers were provided. The robes were good quality but the slippers were pretty basic. This is a 4-star hotel and at that level I don’t expect robes so it is a nice touch.
The only complimentary offering in the room was one hand biscuit. I mean that the biscuit was shaped like a hand. The hand is the symbol of Antwerp, so I do appreciate it is a local offering, but it did look a little lonely on its own.
The room is air conditioned, but I turned it off at night due to the noise. This doesn’t mean it was especially noisy, just that I live in the French countryside and am used to complete silence and darkness at nighttime. During the day the air-con was just fine, and the black out curtains worked so I got a good night’s sleep in the comfy king-sized bed.
The biggest problem I had with the room was the lighting. It is very much mood lighting, not great if you are wanting to work, read, or put on make-up. On their website photographs all the rooms look very well lit, so either my room was an exception, or the photographer did a good job.
Breakfast is served (7am – 10:30am) in the restaurant/bar. This is another lovely space, with more moody lighting, a lot of lit candles (unusual for breakfast time) and a library style bookcase. A couple of the walls have a large mural type wallpaper of tropical birds which adds character. The breakfast is a smallish, but good, cold buffet with cooked eggs as optional.
There is a terrace leading off the restaurant which would be lovely for eating outside in the summer months. The weather was good enough when I visited in September, but the tables weren’t set. The traditional building to the rear of the courtyard, the well, and the pear trees all go together to make this a very pleasant space.
The restaurant wasn’t open for lunch and dinner during my visit, it is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays and I gather from the website that is was closed for August and September. Due to re-open 18th October (2026). It once held a Michelin star, but I can’t find it listed anymore. I would be interested to return and try it out, it is certainly a nice setting.
In the basement the hotel has a gym; not a big one but not bad for a hotel of this size. The room opposite are the old vaults and you can still see the massive door and the original safety deposit boxes. The inner vault now holds the hotel’s wine cellar.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Hotel FRANQ. It clearly meets my definition of a boutique hotel, and made for a far nicer stay than a chain hotel would have. I would be very happy to stay there again and have no hesitation in recommending it.
As an aside, I am not sure about the hotel using all capitals in its name. I have used them here, because that is the name of the hotel, but it feels unnecessary, as though one is shouting.
My deluxe room cost €298 per night including breakfast midweek in the middle of September. I have no affiliation with the hotel and the links here go directly to the hotel’s own website.
If you want to know more about the hotel FRANQ see my YouTube review.
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